03644 - History of the Greek Language

Learning outcomes

The students are expected to acquire a basic knowledge of the fundamental stages of the Greek language in its diachronic development, from the archaic age to the formation of the so-called 'common language' that then developed into Modern Greek.
Through a direct analysis of textual specimens the pupils are expected to develop: a) the ability to recognise the proper historical setting of a Greek text or document; b) the methodological skills to analyse a text from a historical and linguistic point of view.
In the second part of the course, the students will prove their meeting of these goals by producing an essay on a passage of the work studied (Sophocles' Trachiniae) and by giving a presentation of their work to the class.

Course contents

Special focus course ('corso monografico')

a) Language of Sophoclean tragedy: love, pain and death in Trachiniae.

 Core course ('parte istituzionale')

  b)  General rudiments of History of the Greek Language

 Seminar (optional, for students majoring in Greek, held in further meetings to be arranged)

c) The language of theology, philosophy and cultural polemics: Xenophanes' fragments.

The students who include 'History of the Greek Language' (5 cfu) in their 'curriculum' are required to follow only the lectures relevant to the core course ('parte istituzionale', 30 hours).

Links: http://www2.classics.unibo.it/Organico/profili/neri.html

Readings/Bibliography

a) Notes from the lectures. For the text, H. Lloyd-Jones–N.G. Wilson, Sophoclis fabulae, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1990, pp. 239-292 (with the commentary by M. Davies, Sophocles. Trachiniae, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1991; see also R.D. Dawe, Sophocles. Trachiniae, Stuttgart-Leipzig, Teubner, 1996 [3rd ed.]; Patricia E. Easterling, Sophocles. Trachiniae, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1982; A. Dain-P. Mazon, Sophocle, I, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 1955 [7th repr. 1994], pp. 1-60). For a translation and a commentary, see A. Rodighiero, Sofocle. La morte di Eracle (Trachinie), Venezia, Marsilio, 2004; or Sofocle, Trachinie, Filottete, introduzione di V. Di Benedetto, traduzione e note di Maria Serena Mirto, Milano, Rizzoli, 1998 (2nd ed.), pp. 5-167 ; or O. Longo, Commento linguistico alle Trachinie di Sofocle, Padova, Antenore, 1968; alternatively, another edition with the Greek text. For a critical widening, H. Lloyd-Jones–N.G. Wilson, Sophoclea. Studies on the Text of Sophocles, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1990, pp. 150-178; R.D. Dawe, Studies on the Text of Sophocles, III, Leiden, Brill, 1978, pp. 79-98.
b) O. Hoffmann-A. Debrunner-A. Scherer, Storia della lingua greca , trad. it. Napoli, Macchiaroli, 1969, or A. Meillet, Lineamenti di storia della lingua greca , trad. it. Torino, Einaudi, 1981 (2nd edition), or L.R. Palmer, The Greek Language , London, Faber, 1980. For the study of the Greek dialects, Y. Duhoux, Introduzione alla dialettologia greca antica , trad. it. Bari 1986; L. Bottin, Testi greci dialettali , Padova 2000.

 The following texts are also recommended: for phonetics, L. Heilmann, L'alfabeto e la pronuncia del greco , in Introduzione allo studio della cultura classica , II, Milano, Marzorati, 1973, 335-362, and M. Lejeune, Phonétique historique du mycénien et du grec ancien , Paris, Klincksieck, 1972; as for morphology, P. Chantraine, Morphologie historique du grec , Paris, Klincksieck, 1961, and L. Heilmann, Grammatica storica della lingua greca , Torino, Sei, 1963; for the 'Indo-European language', P. Szemerényi, Introduzione alla linguistica indoeuropea , ed. by G. Boccali-V. Brugnatelli-M. Negri, Milano, Unicopli, 1985, F. Villar, Gli indoeuropei e le origini dell'Europa , trad. it. Bologna, il Mulino, 1997, W.P. Lehmann, La linguistica indoeuropea. Storia, problemi e metodi , trad. it. Bologna, il Mulino, 1999, M. Alinei, Origini delle lingue d'Europa , I-II, Bologna, il Mulino, 2000 (2nd edition); for the epic language, P. Chantraine, Grammaire homérique , I-II, Paris, Klincksieck, 1948-1953.

c) Notes from the lectures. For the text,  B. Gentili-C. Prato, Poetarum elegiacorum Graecorum testimonia et fragmenta, I, Stuttgart, Teubner, 1988 (2nd ed.), pp. 144-183 (see also M.L. West, Iambi et elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati, II, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1989 [2nd ed.], pp. 184-191; J.H. Lesher, Xenophanes of Colophon. Fragments, Toronto-Buffalo-London, University of Toronto Press, 1992), and also, for a translation, M. Untersteiner, Senofane. Testimonianze e frammenti, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1956. See also C. Neri, La lirica greca: temi e testi , Roma, Carocci, 2004, pp. 147-152.

Teaching methods

The lectures will be of two kinds: a) lectures given by the teacher, which will outline a concise history of the Greek language from the origins to the Byzantine era through the reading of original texts, translated and analysed in class; b) the reading of Sophocles' Trachiniae (after some introductory lectures and the specimen analysis of some verses made by the teacher) will be carried out by the students themselves as presentations (which will test thus the abilities they have developed in the first part of the course).

All the material handed out in the lectures will be available afterwards on line at http://www2.classics.unibo.it/Organico/profili/neri.html

Assessment methods

A first assessment will be carried out to begin with in the individual presentations on Sophocles' language, where the students will be able auto-assess their learning.
The viva voce examination consists of a conversation in which the teacher, through a series of questions, will test the theoretical knowledge and the theoretical-practical methodologies as explained in the lectures. In particular, the students will be invited to deal with a particular chapter of the history of the Greek language (i.e. the Ionic-Attic dialect group, the koiné , etc.) through the analysis of the textual examples illustrated in class.
The students who will not have given a presentation to the class will be required to carry out a linguistic analysis of some Trachiniae verses in the viva voce.

Teaching tools

PC, video projector, overhead projector, photocopied hand-outs

Links to further information

http://www2.classics.unibo.it/Organico/profili/neri.html

Office hours

See the website of Camillo Neri